Lost
by Kykysuperfly23
Summary: A witch, a werecat, and a wisp all travel to the underground in search of one thing - a friend… Of sorts. So follow this band of unlikely anti-heroes (for the most part) as they search for the paragon that brought them all together.


**So, uh, Ky here and I just wanted to say... Thanks for reading! As with most stories, reviews are welcome. And, without further ado (adieu?) enjoy!**

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"Soph, I don't like this. We should turn back," Laoli nagged as they trudged through the woods. Shania had recently gone missing, and, despite Laoli's hopes, Rachel hadn't disappeared with her. In fact, Rachel had gotten stronger, her physical form staying a lot longer and her attempts at influencing evil have been more than whispers, changing into physical contact like pushes.

"But we need to find Shania. Plus, don't you want Rachel to be much less… here?"

"You know I can hear you, right?" Rachel's low hiss sounded, making Sophie jump in alarm. She had been entirely focused on her trail spell, which was what was leading the trio into the forest in the first place.

"I guess you didn't."

"I guess you make a fair point," Laoli admitted, ignoring Rachel's words. The latter growled at her ignorance, but kept floating along, not wanting to stray too far from her final lifeline.

Rachel Aboreal was what she called a wisp. According to her definition, wisps fed off of those around them, some with help and others with evil deeds, in order to stay in the physical realm. Some may latch themselves onto others, and in Rachel's case, she had latched onto Shania. The stronger the bond, the farther away they could get from each other, but the wisp would be weakened. Based on their distance, Laoli had observed with disappointment that they were definitely close, but what had confused her was her strength.

"Oh no. She, she can't be down there, right?" Sophie's not-so-silent prayers snapped Laoli out of her analytical daze as she rushed to close the gap between her and the one who knew where they were.

Once Laoli and Rachel had caught up, they could only stare in wonder (Rachel and Laoli) and fear (Sophie and Laoli) at the gigantic pit that lay in front of them. Based on the almost physical mass of shadows one met after a few feet of sight, it was clear the the pit could only lead to the bottom of the Earth.

"Well… What does your magic say?" Laoli asked, her fear beginning to accumulate over the wonder and sending an unwelcome chill down her spine.

"It… It goes down the hole," Sophie responded with a shiver of her own.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Rachel interrupted. With a mischievous smile, she changed into her physical form just to take advantage of gravity and fell instantaneously into the pit.

"Can you magic us down there?"

"No. There's a powerful barrier stopping me. It's why I was so nervous before. If - once we go down there, we might not be able to get back up," Sophie stated. Judging by her words, Laoli guessed there was no backing out of the idea now, and mentally prepared herself for another journey into a pit.

The last one wasn't very pleasant. It was how she had gained her demonic-ish powers in the first place. The demon that inhabited her claimed to have taken a liking to her, when, in reality, Laoli was pretty sure the demon just wanted to hitch a ride to the overworld. As a gift of 'thanks' it gave her limited shapeshifting powers. One of a lynx, for some unknown reason.

"So… How are _we_ going to get down. We can't exactly turn into a ghost the split second before we hit the ground."

"What if you shifted just enough to climb down?"

"But-"

"I know, I know, your shifts are painful - believe me, I hated sitting through some of them - but it's so we can help Shania! Besides-" Sophie look her friend directly in the eyes, giving her a misleadingly innocent look, "I've always wanted to cuddle against your soft fur." Laoli blushed and looked away, being the first one to break the eye contact. _Goddammit, you know I can't say no when you do that._

With a sigh, Laoli crawled onto all fours and called upon the demon inside of her. It was surprisingly cooperative, shifting her to the perfect degree between anthropomorphic and… Not. As always with her shifts, there was pain, and her screeches ruined the cute moment from before.

First came the ears, her old ones shrinking into little bumps one tenth the size of a pea while new ones replaced a good chunk of her hair. It burned as it quickly grew from her scalp, resulting in a yelp of pain. Next was her nose, flattening and turning pink to resemble that of a lynx's as its bridge slowly traveled merged with the rest of her face. Her bone structure - sharper teeth, a longer bottom jaw, my feet morphing into a gigantic paw including the claws - was changed suddenly, to limit the pain to mere seconds rather than holding it out for several minutes. This time, Laoli growled as a show of her agony, right before her fur and tail sprouted, which felt similar to a gigantic rope burn.

Sophie had cringed at every yelp, yowl, and growl, wishing that her friend's transformations weren't so painful but helpless to stop it. After a few moments of silence, in which the birds that had been singing before Laoli's change returned to their previous volume, Sophie walked up to Laoli, waiting for the latter to start a conversation. She knew from experience that 'Raowli' didn't like to be talked to just after a change.

"So…" Laoli began, with a bit of a rougher voice," What if you climbed in between my shirt and my fur? It would be a little safer and easier to hold onto."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." That was all of the reassurance Sophie needed as she wriggled into Laoli's shirt. It was more of a sweater, and Laoli's underwear was nowhere to be seen.

"Um… Were you not wearing underpants?"

"I mean, you woke me up from my slumber at about 5 o'clock. I thought she'd be close," Laoli responded, a bit on the defensive. Without another peep, Sophie wrapped her arms around her friend's chest, thanking whatever god was out there that her friend didn't have breasts in this form. She then dug around, looking for a good, thick clump of fur she could latch onto. She selected a grouping that was sub-par, but the best she could do.

"Okay… Ready," Sophie stated, a bit hesitant.

"Alrighty then." Laoli slowly padded up on all fours, sending loose rocks skittering over the edge as she looked for the close ledge. Once her eyes landed on one, she leaped, with Sophie shrieking in her more sensitive ears the entire way down. The werecat landed with a thud, the impact being slightly harder than anticipated, but then again she was carrying a 128 pound baby on her back, so that might have caused it.

A couple more leaps later, and Sophie was nearly sobbing into Laoli's shoulder blade as the large lynx tried to navigate her way through the nearly pitch black pit.

"Can you _please_ stop your crying? I'm trying to focus, and all I can think of is how much you need a sippy cup of warm milk."

"Okay, okay. Let me set up a light spell, then I'll calm down," Sophie replied wiping her face to get rid of the tear streaks. Laoli only snickered, remembering how childish her friend really was, as she used the silence to focus on her next jump.

In the middle of her task, a soft purple glow emitted from Sophie's finger, which made it easier to see in the dark cave. It was also easier to see the strange, almost glass-like force-field in front of them. The glow bounced off of the object, but couldn't seem to pass through. Seeing the shield, Laoli reached out a small claw to touch it, wondering if her claw would pass through.

It did.

She leaped back, not only in surprise, but in pain, as the second her claw touched it, a ripple of finality echoed throughout her body, making her bones shift into more permanent places, but it only lasted an instant before they became more fluid.

"Laoli!" Sophie shouted, watching the rocks bounce over the edge. "What just happened?"

"N-nothing," The she-cat responded, regaining her balance and shaking each leg to rid it of any lingering pain; and to shake the bones out of their place. There was no way she'd go down there again _by choice_ ; but she knew she would have to.

"How are we going to get to Shania?"

"I don't know," Laoli answered watching the reflection of the shield as if it was going to jump out at her. "Could you - maybe - magic up a rope?"

"I could try, but, since it doesn't let my magic through, how would we find her?" They sat in silence, trying to come up with something. As if the universe wanted them to find their way to the bottom, their 'Shania Compass,' spoke to them.

"What's taking you all so long?"

The two shared a look, one of excitement, and the other of dread. They both knew what was coming next. Without another word, betwixt the two, at least, the witch whispered softly into her hands, and a light purple mist floated from Sophia's hands, beginning to take the form of a very long purple rope.

Laoli snatched the thing from the air the second it changed to a normal color.

"Are you… are you sure about this?" Sophia nodded. Chipping away a tiny hole in the rocky wall surrounding her, Laoli threaded the rope through it in an attempt to stop them from falling. Laoli tied the rope around her waist, already planning to go first.

"Can we go to together? With me on your back again?" This time, it was Laoli's turn to nod as her friend climbed on her back. The warmth was a small comfort to pair with her next trial. The lynx knew she wouldn't have much time before her nerves got the best of her and she would run with her tail between her legs. So, with only the smallest amount of hesitation, Laoli forced herself through the barrier.


End file.
